BASIC SUGAR COOKIES
The easy-to-handle dough in this basic sugar cookie is perfect for rolling and cutting. It holds its shape well during baking, tastes great, and the flavor can be changed according to whim: Swap out the vanilla and try adding orange zest, lemon zest, finely chopped rosemary or almond extract. You can also give these cookies a radical makeover by decorating them with icing. A few drops of gel food coloring turn them into Color-Field Cookies; red stripes transform them into Peppermint Stripe Cookies; or a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and pistachios create Abstract Art Cookies. Rubber spacers on your rolling pin are especially helpful here: They'll help you roll the dough to an even thickness, resulting in beautiful, uniform cookies.
Provided by Susan Spungen
Categories snack, cookies and bars, dessert
Time 1h
Yield 2 dozen cookies
Number Of Ingredients 7
Steps:
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Scrape the bowl and fold a few times to make sure everything is well combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick. Use 3-inch floured cutters to cut out cookies, and transfer to two parchment- or silicone mat-lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Reroll scraps as needed, chilling as needed until firm before rolling and cutting again. Freeze until very firm, about 10 minutes.
- Bake until golden brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes.
- Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or frozen up to 3 months.
COLOR-FIELD COOKIES
This tribute to the artist Ellsworth Kelly's work "Nine Colors," requires just one decorating skill: mixing colors. Use gel food coloring for the best results, and blend the colors together gradually, using the tip of a toothpick to control their transformation. For muted tones, add a touch of brown, or a complementary color, like a drop of purple to bright orange. Try a mixing lighter color first. Then, once you've used it, make it darker. For example, sky blue can be deepened with the addition of royal blue, navy blue or a combination. Don't feel tied to the colors produced in Kelly's work, but rather, think of these as an experiment in color.
Provided by Susan Spungen
Categories cookies and bars, dessert
Time 1h
Yield 2 dozen cookies
Number Of Ingredients 6
Steps:
- Prepare the glaze: Combine box of confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons warm water in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork to combine well, slowly adding water as needed to achieve the desired consistency. You should have 2 cups total. Test the glaze on a cookie as you go: If it doesn't spread out on its own to a smooth finish within 10 seconds, it is too thick and needs more water. If it runs off the edge of the cookie, it's too thin and needs more confectioners' sugar.
- Let glaze sit, tightly covered, until ready to use, stirring occasionally. The glaze will keep for at least a week in a small airtight container like a glass jar.
- Decorate the cookies: Pour about 1/3 cup glaze into a small, wide bowl. Starting with a light gel food coloring, mix in color until desired shade is reached. Holding a cookie by the edges, with the top-side down, dip into the glaze, moving the cookie around a bit to make sure it coats the whole surface. Gently shake the cookie from side to side to let the excess glaze drip off.
- Use a small offset spatula to stop the flow of icing, gently scrape cookie against edge of bowl, and flip the cookie over. Use the spatula to spread the icing to pop any air bubbles, and make sure it goes all the way to the edges. The glaze should quickly smooth out on its own. If not, thin it out a bit until it does. Use your fingers to wipe away any icing on the outside edges.
- Continue in this way until you have mixed nine different colors and coated 2 or 3 of the cookies in each color. Let dry completely, a few hours. Cookies will keep in an airtight container up to 3 days.
RAINBOW COOKIES
Moist, mellow, and full of almond flavor.
Provided by Penney
Categories Desserts Cookies Bar Cookie Recipes
Time 10h30m
Yield 96
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line three 9x13 inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, break apart almond paste with a fork, and cream together with butter, sugar, and egg yolks. When mixture is fluffy and smooth, stir in flour to form a dough. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into the dough. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Mix one portion with red food coloring, and one with green food coloring. Spread each portion into one of the prepared baking pans.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Carefully remove from pan and parchment paper, and cool completely on wire racks.
- Place green layer onto a piece of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all three layers. Spread green layer with raspberry jam, and top with uncolored layer. Spread with apricot jam, and top with pink layer. Transfer layers to a baking sheet, and enclose with plastic wrap. Place a heavy pan or cutting board on top of wrapped layers to compress. Chill in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight.
- Remove plastic wrap. Top with melted chocolate chips, and refrigerate 1 hour, or until chocolate is firm. Slice into small squares to serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 60.9 calories, Carbohydrate 7.4 g, Cholesterol 12.8 mg, Fat 3.3 g, Fiber 0.3 g, Protein 0.8 g, SaturatedFat 1.7 g, Sodium 17.3 mg, Sugar 4 g
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